How To Become A Litigation Attorney: What It Is and Career Path

What is a litigation attorney and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Hanna Royce

A litigation attorney is a lawyer who practices in dealing with lawsuits and representing either plaintiffs or defendants in cases. Often called a litigator, they oversee the entire process of taking a lawsuit to court. This process is quite often lengthy, and the litigation attorney must be patient and detail-oriented. To start the process, they must investigate the case to determine whether enough evidence exists to create a potential lawsuit (in the case of their client suing somebody else); if the client is getting sued, the litigator will investigate evidence pertaining to the topic.

Often, a litigator chooses to specialize in a particular area such as business, real estate, or personal injury. The lawsuits that litigators work on may vary widely in scope, and they may require the litigator to have a team of co-attorneys and other legal staff.

The average annual salary for a litigator is approximately $75,000, dependent on many factors. The required credentials for a litigator are a Juris doctorate from an accredited law school and pass the bar test in the state they want to practice, the exact requirements as any other lawyer. Usually, we can categorize litigators by their experience in dealing with lawsuits, measured in years. A junior litigator has zero to three years, a mid-level litigator has three to four, and a senior litigator has four or more. "

What general advice would you give to a litigation attorney?

Hanna Royce

Assistant Dean of Career Services, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law

Graduates should keep their network active. This includes them taking the time to re-engage with the members of their network on a regular basis and continuing to make new contacts. They should make it a priority to stay in touch with their classmates and professors. They might be looking for a new position in the future, and their legal network can help them locate opportunities through the hidden job market.

Many graduates are securing remote positions. To be successful in a remote environment, employees need to make the extra effort to communicate and stay connected with colleagues. Even when employees are telecommuting, they should dress as if they are going into the office. This can help them with productivity and illustrate their professionalism when meeting with colleagues or clients.

ScoreLitigation AttorneyUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $109,027

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.37%

Black or African American 5.54%

Hispanic or Latino 7.76%

Unknown 4.38%

White 75.65%

Gender

female 43.21%

male 56.79%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a litigation attorney

Explore litigation attorney education requirements

Most common litigation attorney degrees

Doctorate

52.7 %

Bachelor's

40.4 %

Master's

4.4 %

Start to develop specific litigation attorney skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	30.45%
Law Firm	13.97%
Legal Research	5.76%
Civil Litigation	3.59%
Commercial Litigation	3.21%

Complete relevant litigation attorney training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New litigation attorneys learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a litigation attorney based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real litigation attorney resumes.

Research litigation attorney duties and responsibilities

Supervise and manage plaintiff's personal injury practice.
Develop litigation strategies including discovery, deposition, arbitration, and jury trial.
Draft internal memos, subpoenas and various discovery documents.
Direct and determine all aspects of plaintiff litigation and resolution strategy.

Prepare your litigation attorney resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your litigation attorney resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a litigation attorney resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable litigation attorney resume templates

Build a professional litigation attorney resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your litigation attorney resume.

Apply for litigation attorney jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a litigation attorney job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do litigation attorneys rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Litigation attorney reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Pros

As a civil litigation defense attorney I love the fact that every day is different. I enjoy assisting clients who have a problem to solve that problem in the most cost effective way, and how to avoid such problems in the future. I like that I basically set my own work schedule (other than court dates).

Cons

Billing hours. Unscrupulous opposing counsel. Occasional biased judges who do not follow the law.

What is a litigation attorney and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a litigation attorney?

Litigation attorney career paths

Key steps to become a litigation attorney

Explore litigation attorney education requirements

Most common litigation attorney degrees

Start to develop specific litigation attorney skills

Complete relevant litigation attorney training and internships

Research litigation attorney duties and responsibilities

Prepare your litigation attorney resume

Choose from 10+ customizable litigation attorney resume templates

Apply for litigation attorney jobs

How did you land your first litigation attorney job

Average litigation attorney salary

How do litigation attorneys rate their job?

Litigation attorney reviews

Litigation attorney jobs by state